Wearing Masks

January 8, 2018

Wearing Masks

But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.

Galatians 2:11

Read: Galatians 2: 11-14

In the ancient Greek theater, instead of using elaborate makeup to portray a character, the actors would simply hold a mask over their face. The Greek word for play acting another character is the root for our words hypocrite and hypocrisy. While the origin of the word related to an actor playing the role of another character, by the first century it already carried the same negative connotations that the word hypocrite carries today. As Paul continued to press his case against the Judaizers, he recalls an incident that was probably already well known by that time.

The Apostle Peter had been visiting Paul and the church in Antioch, which was made up of both Jews and Gentiles. The church enjoyed good fellowship and no distinction was made between their different ethnic backgrounds. Then some members of the church in Jerusalem arrived for a visit and Peter felt compelled to withdraw from table fellowship with the Gentiles and sit apart with the Jews from Jerusalem. That touched a nerve in Paul and he immediately, in front of all in the dining room, confronted Peter with his hypocrisy.

This episode invites us to consider two areas in our own lives. First, hypocrisy is an issue in the lives of all Christians. There is one manner of language, expression and actions that we observe on those days we are in church or are in the company of other believers, and there is another manner we live out in our work place, home or places of recreation. We all will do well to ponder the contrast between these differences and seek to understand why we wear so many different masks.

The second area to consider is our attitude about table fellowship. Jesus caused much controversy because he was so inclusive when he was dining with others. This was a huge cultural issue for Jesus and the first century church because dining was considered an intimate event, and the people were very exclusive when considering with whom they would share a meal. While we probably don’t think this is a big deal in our times, a quick survey of potluck dinners in church fellowship halls reveals that people have a strong tendency to sit with the same group at each dinner. In fact, we can be quite choosy and exclusive about who we want to sit next to at a dinner table.

My Takeaway: When I am thinking of myself, my needs and my comfort zone, I too can be quite choosy and exclusive. When my eyes are on Jesus, when I am more concerned that others can see Jesus in my mortal flesh, I find that my attitude changes. It also helps to have my wife Cheryl with me. She loves meeting new people and especially likes sitting at empty tables, and with an open and inviting demeanor, letting God draw to us whom He will.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2018 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.